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Gulf of Mexico oil spill

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    Big Oil Shakes Down US Taxpayers

    Last week, oil company executives testified to Congress about energy policy in the wake of BP’s ongoing disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. A casual observer may have thought we were transported to an alternate universe. At one session, Representative Joe Barton of Texas apologized to BP for what he called a White House “shakedown” […]

    Terry Tamminen Uncategorized

  • Obama and Senate finally dive in on climate and energy bill

    Tick … tick … tick … The Senate now has about 30 working days before its August recess to decide how serious to get about dealing with greenhouse-gas emissions.  By the end of this week, particularly after a confab Wednesday between President Barack Obama and top senators [Editor’s note: This meeting was indefinitely delayed], we […]

    Randy Rieland Politics

  • Energy Independence Is America's Most Elusive Technological Goal

    In calling for a new “national mission” to achieve energy independence during his Oval Office address last week, President Obama was clearly seeking inspiration from his predecessors, a number of whom actually achieved the big technological goals they’d pursued. At various inflection points in the nation’s history, presidents managed to cross the country with a […]

    Keith Schneider Climate & Energy

  • Ask Umbra comes up empty on enviro-friendly gas stations

    Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dear Umbra, In light of the recent BP oil gush, I have begun to think more critically about where I purchase gasoline. And while I don’t drive all that often, when I do fill up every three or four weeks I would like to support companies that are taking […]

    Ask Umbra® Culture

  • You should totally apologize to BP

    There have been a lot of apologies flying around this week. BP CEO Tony Hayward to the U.S. people. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) to Hayward and BP. Now it’s Twitter’s (and your) turn to tell BP just how totally sorry it is for everything. It’s been a rough week. DrogoBoffin via Twitter@DrogoBoffin: #Imsorrybp That Kanye […]

    Ashley Braun Technology

  • Anti-BP antics are angry but artistic [SLIDESHOW]

    Photo courtesy Infrogmation via FlickrThe Gulf of Mexico oil spill has triggered the usual stages of grief: Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Elaborate costumes. Nudity. Protesters in New Orleans, New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities have been getting creative — and naked — with their responses to the Gulf spill. Let’s just say a whole lot […]

    Grist staff Culture

  • On Capitol Hill, a week of sorry spectacles

    Was it me, or did it seem like everyone in Washington this week was wearing a name tag that said, “Hi, I’m Sorry.” For all the hours of congressional testimony, all the badgering questions and evasive answers, the gestalt of the nation’s capital could be summed up in two words: “My bad.” The four top […]

    Randy Rieland Politics

  • CNN Poll: 82% of Americans Approve of the Idea of a BP Escrow Fund

    CNN released new polling Thursday with fascinating data on how Americans feel about the response to the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Using the poll’s toplines (PDF), I’ve created a series of charts which present the data in a far more useful format. First and foremost, it looks Rep. Joe Barton (R-Big […]

    Josh Nelson Politics

  • The Climate Post: Nothing shaking on Barton’s ‘shakedown’ street

    First things first: Congressional investigators have released material documenting troubles at the Deepwater Horizon site before it failed–and a culture of cost-cutting at BP that elevated catastrophic risk. Five days before the April 20 explosion, a BP engineer called it a “nightmare well which [sic] has everyone all over the place.” A detailed letter to […]

    Eric Roston Technology